That year, we went from Salzburg to Munich. We spent a few hours at Munich and then went to Berlin. And from Berlin, northward to Amsterdam. Our night in Amsterdam was another night out, but after so many journeys and so many crazy backpacking experiences, we’d figured out a few things. We had Eurail passes that […]
Backpacking through Europe: Vienna
I’ve already written so much about Vienna. The lady in the train, who warmed our hearts by taking us to the dining car and giving us tickets as if we were doing her a favour. Our crazy attempt to find the Burggarten. The Schmetterling Haus. Mozart and crisp apple strudel. Vienna was much more, though. […]
After the Burggarten
I wrote, some time ago, about how we hunted for, and eventually found the city garden – https://varshaseshan.com/blog/burggarten-bitte/. In English, somehow, people we spoke to called it the ‘Rose Garden’ rather than the ‘City Garden’. Not unnaturally, we expected to see roses, but we saw none. The garden was truly beautiful, but we saw no roses; […]
A Train to Vienna
Why do people like us? Why do random people whom we will probably never meet again come up to us and do things for us? I wonder if we look young and innocent and vulnerable – if so, how long will we stay that way? I remember our journey to Vienna from Venice. I have […]
Crisp Apple Strudel
When we went to Salzburg, we knew more about The Sound of Music than about Mozart. Now I’m mildly embarrassed about that, but when we went, I was just plain excited. Everyone wants to talk to young Indian backpackers, and conversation with a co-passenger from Vienna to Salzburg was natural. She told us she lived in […]
Burggarten, bitte
A lovely lady on the train to Vienna told us we must go see the Burggarten, a rose garden. In our attempt to put to use our practically non-existent German, we greeted an old gentleman on the road and asked him sweetly, “Burggarten, bitte?” He launched into a long speech in German. We listened, nodded […]